As Long As We're Together
by Beeimahalfblood
Summary: Percy Jackson is the sole survivor from the trip to Greece to stop Gaia. Now the Earth goddess is defeated and Camp HalfBlood celebrates the one-year anniversary of the war, how will Percy cope? Will he keep his promise? "As Long As We're Together" TWOSHOT! Chapters: As Long As We're Together and Dear Someone [AN: UPDATED! FIRST CHAPTER ALTERED, SECOND CHAPTER ADDED.]
1. As Long As We're Together

**HELLLOOO! It's Bee here! I was inspired on the way home today and came up with this rather depressing and angsty Percy scene. This is the first time I've ever written anything of even a remotely sad nature, so bare with me.**

**Check out my other stories: _Percy and the Shipwrecked Mermaid_ [Percabeth], _Translations_ [Di Vangelo], and _Making it Count_ [Posally]**

**I hope you like it! Read and Review!**

**AN: THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED! THIS IS NOW A TWOSHOT AND THIS CHAPTER'S ENDING HAS BEEN CHANGED!**

* * *

"Hey Perce, why don't you come and celebrate with the rest of us, hmm?" An oblivious young camper tried to coax Percy into the party, away from where he sat on his secluded rock.

"No." He growled. His once playful green eyes swirling with despair.

"Sorry, just trying to help." The boy raised his arms in defence and backed away. "It's the anniversary after all."

Percy clenched his teeth as he seethed with pure emotion. His shoulders lifted up once, rigidly, and then fell back down.

"Leave me alone. There's nothing to celebrate." He spoke crudely, snapping at the boy.

The campers had gathered together on the beach at Camp Halfblood to celebrate the one year anniversary of the victory over the Goddess Gaia.

"Everyone's having a good time, why don't you join in?" The small boy persisted.

Those who knew Percy before the war knew better than to try and force him into the celebrations.

He'd been secluded ever since he returned from the battle in Greece; he hardly ate, slept, or spoke, becoming only a shell of his former persona. But he put on a brave face. You wouldn't have known anything was wrong at first glance. Only when you looked deeper could you see how hurt the boy really was.

Percy stood up suddenly and towered over the younger child.

He'd been pushed too far and over the edge.

"You don't understand do you?" Percy screamed across the beach.

No one dared answer the clearly distraught boy.

The others had caught on to the exchange and had fallen silent, staring at the scene.

The smaller lad had merged backwards into the crowd who stood watching the lone son of Poseidon.

"No one understands! No one ever will!"

He stood in front of the group with fists clenched and the sky overhead was noticeably darkening, and the previous calm water was now a churning mess.

"I'm just '_The Hero_' aren't I?" He said mockingly.

He paused and rasped in a shaky breath.

"Perseus Jackson, legendary son of Poseidon, saviour of the Gods, victor over Kronos and the Earth Mother Gaia."

He laughed hollowly, the sound carrying over the landscape.

"That's, just, it." He emphasised every syllable and his voice dripped venom.

"I'm just a legend to you; someone to tell brave, exaggerated tales of to your children. To be remembered in stories for years to come." His eyes scanned the crowd, boring into anyone who dared avoid eye contact.

"I'm sure your children will love hearing about 'Our Favourite Hero'. How he fought this, defeated that. "He dropped his tone to a darker, more menacing voice. "Let them be.

"Let them be enthralled by our brave hero defeating extravagant beasts.

"Let them be amazed by our brave hero surviving Tartarus.

"Let them be proud by our brave hero winning the war."

He turned one hundred and eighty degrees and pointed directly at a new arrival.

"It's the same for you. You live in awe of The Seven, who fought in real wars; while you, y_ou_ train your whole life to venture on some pointless, pitiful quest because some God asked you to.

"Be happy that that's all you'll ever experience. Some glorified quest. You didn't go to war. You didn't have to live through two wars. Fight through two wars. Watch your friends die through two wars. Be happy that that's never going to happen.

"But the great Perseus Jackson's done it. Remember him. Look up to him. Aspire to be him.

"No."

By this time he was red in the face and tears were mercilessly falling as he finally let his guard down. The ocean behind him had responded to his emotions and waves were crashing onto the shore. A storm had brewed and large droplets of rain were falling in sheets; his tears had mixed with the rain so you couldn't tell the difference between the two.

"You haven't seen the true nature of war.

"War isn't fair. It isn't merciful. It isn't heroic. Nothing about war should ever be celebrated.

"One year today I watched the closest, and most brave people around me fall. Fall at the hand of an unforgiving monster. I saw them give up. Break down. Cry out in pain as they were horrifically slaughtered by some evil.

"Their deaths haunt me. More so than Tartarus. But the worst is knowing that you were not there to save them. You were just too late to change their fate. Too late to save an innocent soul from a harsh and painful end.

"It's when they bleed slowly. That's the worst. Their faces contorted into images I wish I could erase.

"But you'll never understand their sacrifice. To you, they died an '_honourable'_ death. Because you weren't there to watch it.

"Dying on the battle field is not honourable. It's not heroic. Instead, it's barbaric and unforgiving.

"So celebrate all you want. Celebrate their _'honourable'_ sacrifices for your futures. They died so you could live. Be grateful. Show remorse.

"But I'm still standing. '_Our Hero_' made it out alive.

"I don't belong here. I should be lost in the ruins of Greece alongside my comrades.

"Jason Grace; who was a strong and riotous leader. Piper McLean; who proved that looks aren't everything. Leo Valdez; who learned to embrace his differences. Frank Zhang; who understood the fleeting value of life. Hazel Lévesque; who showed how you should judge a person on their present and not their past. Nico Di Angelo; who always protected those he loved. And Annabeth..."

Something finally broke physically as his voice hitched between heavy sobs.

"Annabeth Chase. My Wise Girl."

He pulled out Riptide, the blade dulled and slick in the rain, and gripped it tightly. His arm fell limply at his side.

"So remember '_Our Favourite Hero'_ driven wild by the horrors of war. Remember '_Our Favourite Hero_' as he refused to celebrate and mourned his lost friends. Remember '_Our Favourite Hero_' as he promised: _As long as we're together_."

He turned around swiftly and disappeared for the last time into the waves.


	2. Dear Someone

**HELLO! This is chapter two, the final chapter!**

**I hope you like this story! Check out my others if you do!**

**Read and Review, favourite and follow as always! I appreciate every one of you! Thank you for reading!**

* * *

He walked. He didn't stop walking. He walked along the ocean floor, where no one could find him. _'It was better that way.'_

Being alone.

_'It's peaceful_.' He decided.

Not even the fish dare to speak to him. They avoided the grieving boy like the plague.

_'I'm only one pawn in the Fates' ruthless game. That's all I am.' _He thought.

He hardened his gaze into the endless blue in front of him.

"But now you're done with me aren't you? Finished? You don't want me anymore. The Perseus Jackson has gone mad. Lets find our new hero." He screamed into the water, knowing it wouldn't reach anyone.

"Haven't I had enough already? I've been to _war_ for Gods' sake!" He vented his rage to nothing in particular.

"_Perseus Jackson_." He said mockingly, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "At the age of 16 he defeated Kronos after watching many friends be slaughtered at the hands of merciless enemies. He moved on. And at the age of 18 he defeated Gaia, being the sole survivor of the quest to Greece."

"I've been to _war_, _twice_."

He stopped pacing and stood motionless in the water.

"Isn't being an illegitimate son of Poseidon enough for you?"

He paused, as if daring someone to answer.

"No! It never is! Is it? Lets make his life a living hell so we can laugh at his misfortune! Oh, and while we're at it, lets make him live through hell too! YAY!"

He continued to mindlessly wonder the seabed, paying no attention to where he was going.

The ocean didn't have expectations.

The ocean had no favourites.

The ocean didn't question you.

Percy liked the ocean.

He liked being alone.

After an endless silence he spoke up gently, much softer than before, voicing his thoughts out loud.

"Luke Castellan was a hero. A real hero. But only now do I understand why he did what he did. He wanted to make life better for neglected demigods. He tried."

His voice was barely a whisper.

His tears mixed with the salt water around him so they couldn't be distinguished.

"I tried."

A sob wracked through his body.

"But what do I get rewarded with?"

He began to sprint forwards, slashing Riptide through the water as if fighting his way through a deadly army.

"You play with my fatal flaw."

His breathing was heavy as he began to exhaust himself.

"Loyalty."

His sentences were short as he heaved in oxygen.

"To save a friend, I would sacrifice the world."

He fell to his knees. And curled his legs to his chin.

He didn't care.

There was no one to watch him.

The ocean doesn't judge.

"But what if I've already sacrificed the world? What if there are no friends left? What if I can't do this anymore?"

He picked up his sword and studied it carefully in the dim, blue light. _Anaklusmos_. Riptide.

He closed his eyes and spoke in a deadly calm tone.

"Father, please take this. I don't deserve Anaklusmos anymore. It has served me well, won many battles, but it's place is no longer with me. Please, give it to someone worthy."

He turned the blade once over in his hands, then thrust it into the darkness and willed it not to return to him.

Percy took one last look upwards. He could faintly make out the moon rippling on the surface; it cast a ghostly light.

'_Ironic how I've always feared drowning_.' He thought.

He managed a humourless laugh which echoed around him.

"Mum, I love you, and I'm sorry. Tyson, brother, I'm sorry. Poseidon, father, I'm sorry. It's no longer my place in this world. Goodbye." He spoke with emotion and pure regret.

He willed the water to crash down on him, no longer withstanding the pressure. He forced the water out of his lungs, suffocating himself. He remained still, accepting of his fate. This is it.

His last thought as death came to claim the hero: '_As Long As We're Together._'

* * *

They found his letter in the empty Cabin 3 that night.

_Dear Someone,_

_I don't care who finds this. It's not like it matters anymore anyway. _

_I'm just a legend. _

_And you'll tell twisted tales of how I lived a long and happy life. _

_I find that downright comical._

_But go ahead! I can't stop you._

_Just discard and forget the truth._

_That I've been to war. _

_No person should have to experience the true nature of war. It's not fair. It takes everything away from you, out of you, leaving a shadow in your place._

_The Fates' have a twisted way of acting._

_I am loyal to the last breath. It's my fatal flaw._

_How am I expected to continue without those I treasure most? I'd give the world to save a friend._

_But what if I've given the world and it wasn't enough? How can I live knowing I failed?_

_Please remember the fallen._

_No. I won't move on. Yes. I'll remain forever in the past. _

_I can't stay here living in a ghost town. I can't look at this world without horrible, hurtful memories killing me from the inside out. The flashbacks you are fortunate not to see. And I'll always be dreaming of a world not corrupted by harsh revenge or evil. _

_I'll never achieve eternal happiness. I've been through just too much._

_I defeated Kronos and Gaia and prevented civil war, all so you can live in peace. I went to war so you don't have to. I tried to make this world a better place._

_I'm not needed anymore. I've played my part in this sick pantomime. I'm finished._

_I've won the battle._

_But I've lost the war._

_I don't expect you to understand._

_Mum, Paul, Tyson, Ella, Thalia, Grover, Juniper, Rachel, Clarisse, Chris, Will, Katie, Travis, Connor, Reyna, Malcom, Coach Hedge, Chiron; you're all family. _

_I love you all. _

_And I am sorry for letting you down._

_Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus._


End file.
